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Chinese companys says it will not be selling TikTok

ILLUSTRATION - 22 September 2023, Berlin: On a smartphone, the logo of the TikTok platform is displayed. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa (Photo by Monika Skolimowska / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP)

By Abdirahman Khalif | 26 Apr 2024

TikTok is popular in Eastleigh with the most popular person on the Video app amassing over 2 million followers.

TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance says it has no intention of ever selling the app. This follows the law passed by the United States requiring ByeteDance to sell the popular video app or face a ban in America.

In a post made on their official account on Toutiao, the Chinese popular news app, ByteDance said it will not be selling TikTok.

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"ByteDance has no plans of selling TikTok," read for of the statement.

However, TikTok did not respond to requests by international media outlets on their statement.

Earlier this week after President Joe Biden signed the TikTok ban into law, Shou Zi Chew, the Chief Executive Officer of the app said they will be moving to court and challenge the ban.

Rumours were awash all over social media and international tech websites this week that ByteDance will finally give in to US demands and sell TikTok which necessitated the response of the parent company.

"Foreign media reports about ByteDance selling TikTok are not true," the company said in their response, which included a screenshot of the article in Chinese language meaning "false rumour" stamped over it.

If TikTok moves to court and challenges the law signed by President Biden, it would take over three years before finally, TikTok gets out of the US market that is if they lose the lawsuit.

TikTok, which is used by more than 170 million Americans, most likely won't disappear from the phones who people who already downloaded it even if the ban does take effect.

But it would disappear from Apple and Google's app stores, which means users won't be able to download it. This would also mean that TikTok wouldn't be able to send updates, security patches and bug fixes, and over time the app would likely become unusable.

India, Afghanistan, Iran, China, North Korea, Indonesia, Russia and Uzbekistan are among the countries where the ByteDance-owned video application does not operate currently.

TikTok is popular in Eastleigh with the most popular person on the Video app amassing over 2 million followers.